Which type of nerves carry messages from the brain to the muscles?

The correct answer is motor nerves. Motor nerves are responsible for transmitting signals from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. These signals are crucial for initiating muscle movement and coordinating physical actions. When the brain decides to engage a muscle, motor neurons send electrical impulses that instruct the muscles to contract, resulting in movement.

Sensory nerves, on the other hand, carry information from sensory receptors in the body to the brain, allowing for the perception of stimuli such as touch, pain, and temperature. Autonomic nerves control involuntary functions and regulate processes such as heart rate, digestion, and respiratory rate, which do not involve direct conscious muscle movement. Peripheral nerves encompass both sensory and motor nerves, but they do not specifically denote the function of sending messages from the brain to muscles like motor nerves do. Therefore, the distinction of motor nerves as the type responsible for muscle movement is clear and well-defined.